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Between Them: Remembering My Parents
Between Them: Remembering My Parents
Between Them: Remembering My Parents
Audiobook3 hours

Between Them: Remembering My Parents

Written by Richard Ford

Narrated by Christian Baskous

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this audiobook

From American master Richard Ford, a memoir: his first work of nonfiction, a stirring narrative of memory and parental love

How is it that we come to consider our parents as people with rich and intense lives that include but also exclude us? Richard Ford’s parents—Edna, a feisty, pretty Catholic-school girl with a difficult past; and Parker, a sweet-natured, soft-spoken traveling salesman—were rural Arkansans born at the turn of the twentieth century. Married in 1928, they lived “alone together” on the road, traveling throughout the South. Eventually they had one child, born late, in 1944.

For Ford, the questions of what his parents dreamed of, how they loved each other and loved him become a striking portrait of American life in the mid-century. Between Them is his vivid image of where his life began and where his parents’ lives found their greatest satisfaction.

Bringing his celebrated candor, wit, and intelligence to this most intimate and mysterious of landscapes—our parents’ lives—the award-winning storyteller and creator of the iconic Frank Bascombe delivers an unforgettable exploration of memory, intimacy, and love.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperAudio
Release dateMay 2, 2017
ISBN9780062673978
Author

Richard Ford

Richard Ford (Jackson, Mississippi, 1944) es Premio Princesa de Asturias de las Letras 2016 y ha publicado las novelas Un trozo de mi corazón, La última oportunidad, Incendios, Canadáy la serie protagonizada por Frank Bascombe: El periodista deportivo, El Día de la Independencia (premios Pulitzer y PEN/Faulkner), Acción de Gracias, Francamente, Frank y Sé mía; cuatro libros de narraciones, Rock Springs, De mujeres con hombres, Pecados sin cuento y Lamento lo ocurrido, y los volúmenes memorialísticos Mi madre, Flores en las grietas y Entre ellos, editados todos en Anagrama y que le han confirmado como uno de los mejores escritores norteamericanos de su generación: «El mejor escritor en activo de este país» (Raymond Carver); «Un crítico norteamericano ha dicho que Ford se inscribía en la tradición de Faulkner, Hemingway, Steinbeck... Se está convirtiendo tranquilamente en el mejor escritor norteamericano» (Bernard Géniès, Le Nouvel Observateur); «Richard Ford nos habla de un mundo que nos pertenece, como una canción de Tom Waits o –sirva como paradigma iconográfico– el film de Wim Wenders Paris-Texas» (J. Ernesto Ayala-Dip, El País).

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Reviews for Between Them

Rating: 3.865079263492064 out of 5 stars
4/5

63 ratings8 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a curious book by Richard Ford, as it includes two separate memoirs, one involving his mother, and the other his father, written thirty years apart. As often happens with Ford’s writing, I found myself captivated by his words. His folks got married in 1938, and his father worked as a traveling salesman for Faultless Starch. They lived on the road, as they traveled throughout the Southwest, and they had a great time together. It wasn’t until 1944—sixteen years after their wedding—that their only child, Richard, was born. Once he reached school age, that ended the family traveling the roads together. There are interesting aspects in both their stories, but Ford never claims that they were exceptional people, but still well represented the country in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. Because they had so much time alone together, it impressed me as to how little Ford knew about what their relationship was really like, or much of anything else about them together. I loved the fact that he could write about them separately so clearly, but always made it abundantly clear that the most important part of their lives was the relationship between the two of them. In the writing, there was never any signs that Richard’s nose was out of joint, because it was always clear that they both loved him, just that his mom and dad were always a couple first. His dad was always good with people and thus was a successful salesman. His dad died from a weak heart many years before cancer finally killed his mom. Though much of my personal reading is around and through death, his mother dying from cancer was tough for me to read. The times and the unspectacular nature of these two people was such a refreshing take on the memoir form, as he makes no attempt to make his parents more special than they actually were. I would reread this in an instant. I would have loved to have put this book (by one of our very favorite writers) into my late wife’s hands, because I’m sure that she would have loved it as well. My life alone is sad in many ways, but not being able to share what was the love of our lives—books—is one very painful feature in my life of mourning. It makes me wonder what it was like for Ford to never make his parents any bigger than they were in real life. It would be interesting enough to write about your own folks, close family that you loved, but to then never embellish their character or history—seems almost irresistible. Curious, curious, curious.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    How well do we really know our parents? That's the question this book attempts to answer. Often we know about them, but don't know their inner life: motivations, intentions, dreams, goals. Richard Ford explains his memoir Between Them as a reminder “….that I was one person raised by two very different people, each with a separate perspective to impress upon me, each trying to act in concert with each other, and each of whose eyes I tried to see the world through.” In short, a balancing act, which is in part a reference to the title, but also a nod to the fact that he was their only child born fifteen years into their marriage, when they already had established a life without him. The book is uniquely divided into two parts, one that focuses on his father, Parker Ford and one that recalls his mother, Edna Ford, and he actually wrote the halves 30 years apart from each other. This is an eloquent, impressionistic account of his memories of them – he isn’t seeking to chronicle dates or a family history. Rather he wants to honor their simple lives and ultimately come to know himself better. They married in 1928 in Arkansas and weathered the Depression and WWII. He was a traveling salesman for Faultless Starch covering a vast southern territory and she traveled along with him, until Richard was born in 1944 and they put down roots in Jackson, MS. Just hearing the period details is enthralling, especially since they only linger in the past. Ford had more time with his mother and that colored their relationship differently than the one he had with his father. Between Them is a beautiful book that makes us consider the memories, comments, interactions and love that shapes us.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    As with any Ford book, beautifully written, thoughtful and poignant.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I asked for this book for Christmas and read it in under three days. That is not bragging; it is a slim volume. I am giving it five stars and you will have to read it yourself to find out why. Suffice to say that it works as a recital of facts, as a reflective piece and as a piece which encourages the reader to stand where the writer is and examine their own lives.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A copybook approach to writing about what you know and never knew about your parents. A life together lived separately. As Richard Ford says 'it did not occur to me to write about my parents in any way but as individuals'.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A simple story about simple folks, heartfelt and beautifully written. I wish I could write this for my parents.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Richard Ford offers a thoughtful, kind, measured account of his parents, a memoir both reflecting and opaque. The first half of the book is about his father, who died when Richard was only sixteen. Since much of his father’s life preceded his own, the greater part of this concentrates on that, his father as a young man and the fifteen years of marriage to Richard’s mother before Richard arrived relatively late in their lives. His father was diffident, shy, but also personable. He found his way in life to a position — regional salesman for a starch manufacturer — that perfectly suited his affability and his unconnectedness. It is clear that the relationship with Richard’s mother was the foundation of all that he became. He needed little more. And the same might be said of her. So his untimely passing left her bereft. Not inconsolable or incapable. Just bereft. The latter half of the memoir concentrates on Richard’s mother whom he loved and cared for even at a distance for the many years remaining until her own passing. That he should look back now some decades on at her life and more than half a century after his father’s death is both curious and precious.Ford is never less than a brilliant and soulful writer. He approaches his subjects like characters in his novels, characters whom he cannot fully know. Nor does he wish to surmise. He observes. He records. He is patient. And kind. He acknowledges again and again that he grew up in love and that love suffused their relationship. And what remains is his fondness for his mother and for his father.Perhaps you will be struck by a tinge of sadness in the lives of these people. Perhaps that will extend to the writer himself. He would not wish it. He notes in an afterword that a friend made such an observation of what he had written but he disavows this. If asked, he would say that he had a wonderful life.Recommended.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a gentle journey through Richard Ford's life with his parents and their imagined life without him. Ford was born 15 years after his parents were married, after they had become accustomed to their life together on the road (Dad Parker was a traveling salesman, and mom Edna accompanied him on his route). Although he grew up surrounded by love, Ford also knew of the occasional quick temper of both his parents. But other than that, there seems to be nothing but the bliss of being surrounded by warmth and security. With such a placid childhood, Ford wants to honor his parents who, unremarkable in all aspects, seem to be the least likely to be the subject of a memoir, especially as compared to all the fraught recollections that inundate readers constantly these days. His joy and his quiet wonderings about the mysteries of this couple make for an honorable tribute ,and a read that just flows gently from the father's story to the mother's (written 30 years apart). The photos scattered throughout just add to the intimacy of the story.